No former Werder players have made as many headlines as Mesut Özil in recent months. Following the media debate surrounding his photo with Erdogan and his retirement from the national side, things look to have finally settled down for the playmaker. We’ve decided to take a look back at the best moments from Özil’s time at Werder.
Werder fans probably remember the exact moment that 19-year-old Mesut Özil joined the club. It was 31st January 2008 – a Thursday. The midfielder signed on the final day of the winter transfer window and Werder had to fight until the evening to get the deal over the line. It was just before the window closed, at midnight, that Klaus Allofs’ success with the transfer could be announced. Özil had been labelled a ‘bad apple’ by a newspaper during the contract negotiations, but he appeared shy in front of the cameras, as he often did. “I was excited,” said the midfielder, just as the fans and players were. Özil explained to Werder.de that his aim was to ‘develop here as a player’. He did exactly that.
The playmaker made 108 appearances Werder and provided 54 assists. This was an incredible record which put the attacking midfielder’s name on the radar of all top clubs in Europe. Only four players managed to provide more assists in the club’s history than Özil (Herzog - 81, Bode - 65, Frings - 61 and Micoud - 57). There are numerous statistics that highlight Özil’s talent and importance at Werder, as well as at the other clubs he has played for.
I absolutely loved playing for Werder BremenMesut Özil
In August 2010, Özil swapped Bremen for Madrid. He posted on Facebook at the time: “It was a difficult decision. I will look back at my time at SV Werder Bremen with great fondness. I will see you soon. Mesut.” The post only had six comments at the time, but he now has 31.5 million followers, this was the Özil of the past. Özil’s post about Werder’s birthday in 2016 looking back at the ‘old times’, got 330,000 likes. Oh how the times change.
Even today, Özil looks back at his time at Bremen with fondness. “I absolutely loved playing for Werder Bremen,” said Özil recently. Werder also loved seeing Mesut Özil play in green and white. Happy birthday, Mesut, all the best for the future!
